Special Report:US Soldier KIA in Somalia Identified - Green Beret had intel links

The Pentagon has identified the US Army Soldier killed in action by the al-Qaida affiliate al-Shabaab on Friday in Somalia as SSG Alexander W. Conrad,26,of Chandler,Arizona.The native of Mesa,Arizona was a member of 1st Battalion,3rd Special Forces Group (Airborne) out of Fort Bragg,North Carolina.SSG Conrad was serving alongside Somali National Security Forces and Kenyan Defence Forces in Jubaland State when they were attacked around 1445 hrs by mortars and small arms fire.He was killed by indirect enemy fire,i.e.,mortar shells or an IED.Four other US Soldiers and a Somali Soldier were wounded.
The allied forces were on a clearing operation to remove al-Shabaab from contested areas and villages and establish a permanent combat outpost to expand the control of the the Somali Federal Government.*
According to 3rd Special Forces Group,SSG Conrad had joined the Army in 2010 and,following basic and follow-on training,was stationed at Joint Base Lewis-McChord,Washington State,as a human intelligence (HUMINT) collector.While stationed at the Joint Base,he pulled two tours in Afghanistan.Subsequently,SSG Conrad advanced his HUMINT collection skills by completing the French Basic Language Course at the Defense Language Institute Foreign Language Center in Monterey,California in 2016.He was consequently assigned to 3rd SFG as a HUMINT Non-Commissioned Officer.*
By way of context,it should be noted that,indeed,3rd SFG has from its inception in 1963 been oriented to Africa and the Middle East,being nearly continuously active in the wars in Afghanistan and,somewhat less,in Iraq as well,at the peak of those conflagrations.As the US role in these wars was reduced,3rd SFG began to shift its emphasis to Africa and the rise of militant Islam on that continent.
Before SSG Conrad's death,3rd SFG had sustained four other KIAs in Africa in October 2017,when four of its Soldiers were killed in Niger in West Africa.
The remaining al-Shabaab stronghold in Somalia is the regions around the capital,Mogadishu.At the time of the Jubaland engagement,the 3rd SFG was providing advice,assistance and aerial surveillance to the African forces there by means including an armed UAV. *
SSG Conrad was posthumously awarded the Purple Heart and Meritorious Service Medals.He had also been decorated with the Army Commendation Medal (3rd award);Army Good Conduct Medal (2nd award);Combat Action Badge;Basic Parachutist Badge;and Meritorious Unit Commendation (second award).*
"Greater love hath no man than this,that a man lay down his life for his friends."
- John 15:13                 '

Busy Monday:General Dunford,President Obama Address National Security Challenges

To be more effective against ISIL,we need better HUMINT and vetting of Syrian opposition groups,Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford,USMC,told the Center for a New American Security in Washington,DC on 14 December.We're going to focus on getting after ISIL's military capabilities,control of terrain and ability to export operations,while being very mindful of the complex situation that we're in.A number of things on the ground are developing positive opportunities.Moving forward,we're looking to increase the tempo and the opportunities for our partners.*
We continue to face enduring challenges of extremism in South Asia as well.The continued threat of al-Qaida requires us to keep counterterror partners for some time to come.The Ghani administration in Afghanistan is fully supportive of what we're doing.I think we have common objectives,but this summer highlighted that the Afghan National Defence and Security Forces have a ways to go.A critical part is the continuing commitment of the international community.The Warsaw Summmit in July is to reinforce commitment to the Afghan campaign,both financially and militarily,through 2020.*
It isn't just ISIL;we have a number of challenges from states as well.Russia has made significant investments in its military capabilities.They introduced new ballistic missiles and submarines this year.
We closely watch China's military capabilities and behaviour in the South China Sea.They have a large conventional capability,a growing navy and increasingly sophisticated air force.In the South China Sea,China is destabilising right now.As Admiral Harris of US Pacific Command said,The Great Wall of Sand is being developed by China in the South China Sea,referring to China's rapid island-building effort in the disputed waters.
North Korea is developing its ballistic missile and cyber capability.*
Earlier in the day,GEN Dunford stood with President Barack Obama when he spoke at the Pentagon,where the President had made a rare visit to get a briefing on the anti-ISIL Operation Inherent Resolve and meet with his National Security Council.Mr.Obama pointed out that the US and its armed forces are:
1.hunting down and taking out ISIL leaders;
2.training and equipping indigenous anti-ISIL ground forces in Iraq and Syria;
3.stopping ISIL's recruiting,financing and propaganda;and
4.negotiating an end to the Syrian civil war.
The President said he had ordered new actions with more firepower into the anti-ISIL campaign this fall,even before the ISIL attacks on Paris and the ISIL-inspired San Bernardino attack.More Special Operations Forces actions are well underway.
ISIL is dug in in urban areas and use human shields to protect themselves,so we have to be smart.We are routing ISIL out with nearly 7,000 airstrikes to date.We're taking out ISIL leaders and commanders one-by-one.If we haven't gotten you yet,you are next,the President warned.We're going out after ISIL from downtown Raqqa,Syria to Libya.In many places,they've lost the freedom to manoeuver.Since this summer,ISIL has not mounted a single successful offensive operation and has lost territory in both Iraq and Syria.In Iraq alone,ISIL has lost 40% of its territory in populated areas;while in Syria,it has lost thousands of square miles.
Immediately following his presentation,Mr.Obama sent Defense Secretary Ashton Carter to the Middle East to meet with coalition partners and secure more contributions to Operation Inherent Resolve.

Deterring and Assuring:Air Force Global Strike Command's Mission and Perspective

This blog has reviewed the 2014 Air Force Global Strike Command Strategic Master Plan,which is currently in force.AFGSC is headed by Lieutenant General Stephen W. Wilson,Commander.The AFGSC is entrusted with the nation's most powerful weapons,LTGEN Wilson points out.Its Airmen see things globally,their focus inherently global and strategic.They provide the nation effective deterrence and,when called upon,rapid global strike.
AFGSC is a warfighting component,a MAJCOM of US Strategic Command that executes assigned deterrence,assurance and global strike missions.It organises,trains and equips both conventional and nuclear combat forces for the President and Combatant Commanders.ICBM forces are deployed in a nuclear deterrent role,and AFGSC bombers plan and execute deterrence and Global Power/Strike operations to provide USSTRATCOM with a viable deterrent capability.*
The strategic environment continues to present a very dynamic and uncertain picture and the number of state and non-state actors that can produce strategic effects across the spectrum of conflict is growing in both quantity and complexity.In current and future conflicts,AFGSC forces are required to survive and operate in threat environments ranging from low threat/permissive to highly contested Anti-access/Area Denial environments,according to the US Air Force Posture Statement 2013.
The Air Force's nuclear deterrent and conventional precision strike forces can credibly deny adversary objectives or impose unacceptable costs by effectively holding any target on the planet at risk and,if necessary,disabling or destroying targets promptly,even from bases in the continental United States.
AFGSC has at its disposal two numbered Air Forces,the Eighth and the Twentieth,and five Air Force Bases.Over 25,000 personnel operate,maintain and support its 450 ICBMs;24 UH-1N Air Force Security Forces helicopters;and 96 long range,nuclear-capable bombers.AFGSC B-52H bombers have been deployed to Europe in support of Operation Atlantic Resolve and NATO exercises,while its B-1B bombers have participated in Operation Inherent Resolve against ISIL.*
The era in which the US can project global military power virtually uncontested will likely end by 2030,if not before,the Strategic Master Plan projects.The potential state and non-state actors that can threaten the US and its allies across the spectrum of conflict are growing in number and increasing in complexity.This requires a greater effort by the US to work with key allies and partners to maintain peace and stability around the globe.
Nations with Weapons of Mass Destruction and advanced conventional capabilities will continue to be potential strategic threats.Foreign intelligence and security services will continue efforts to gather information on US capabilities through HUMINT,SIGINT and imagery intelligence to replicate or mitigate US military advantages.Violent and extremist terrorist groups will continue to develop indirect means to strike the US through recruitment and subversion of dissidents or through covert insertion.They will continue to pursue their goal of acquiring nuclear weapons or other WMD,the Strategic Master Plan predicts.*
The Strategic Master Plan goes on to outline in detail a number of priorities that must be met to ensure that the mission of AFGSC will be accomplished,such as the modernisation and replacement of major weapons systems and aircraft.